Gin pole for derricks



Jan. 18, 1938. w. scHwEMLEIN Er Ax. 2,105,365

GIN POLE FOR DERRICKS Filed oct. 15, 1955 I 2 sheets-sheet 1 Patented Jan. 18, 1938 GIN POLE FOR DERRICKS William Schwemlein and Samuel B. Settle, Parkersburg, W. Va., assignors to The Parkersburg Rig & Reel Company, Parkersburg, W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia Application October 15, 1935, Serial No. 45,130

16 Claims.

This invention relates to gin poles for derricks. In connection with oil Well derricks it has been the common practice for many years to provide the upper ends of such structures with gin poles projecting thereabove to facilitate the hoisting of crown block assemblies, etc., to the tops of the derricks. The structures customarily employed for this purpose comprise two spaced A-frames having a single girt joining them at their upper ends, such structures being provided with the necessary bracing. The transverse girt carries the usual hoisting means for raising the crown block assemblies, etc., to the top of a derrick.

Gin poles of the type referred to were wholly satisfactory in use until the crown blocks increased to a size too large to apply beneath the gin poles. Withv the advent of larger crown blocks attempts were made to increase the dimensions of the usual form of gin pole but it was found that this could not be satisfactorily accomplished. This was due to the fact-that the upper ends of the derricks are of standard size and it is wholly impracticable to change the-entire derrick structure for the purpose of increasing the size of the upper end thereof merely to secure greater gin pole clearance.

A further disadvantage of such prior structures lies in the fact that it is the common practice to lift a -load to the top of a derrick with a hoisting mechanism placed a substantial distance from the base of the derrick. 'I'his operation transmits an angular force to the gin pole, and the horizontal component of such force has been found to be highly destructive to gin poles of conventional types, particularly in view l of the heavier loads which now must be elevated to the tops of derricks.

An important object of the present inventio is to provide a gin pole which meets all of the requirements of modern installations as to horizontal and vertical. clearances, horizontal and vertical strength, and lightness.

More specifically, an important object of the invention is to `provide a novel vtype of gin pole which readily may be employed in connection with conventional derrick structures and which provides ample vertical and horizontal clearances to facilitate the hoisting and placing of crown block assemblies.

A further object is to provide a gin pole which is light in construction and which provides substantially more than the necessary vertical strength, and rigidity against the horizontal components of the force applied in raising relatively heavy loads to the derrick.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description. 5

In the drawings we haveshown one embodi-Y ment of the invention. In this showing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention shown applied to vthe upper end of a derrick,

Figure 2 is av plan view of the same, 10

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view on line 3-'3 of Figure 1, I

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation illustrating the connection between the gin pole and the derrick structure, and 5 Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring 4to Figures l,v 2, and 4, the numeral I Il designates a conventional derrick structure as a whole including the usual upwardly converging legs II suitably braced with respect to each other. In Figure l, one of the upper struts I2 is illustrated as being connected between the derrick legs. The upper end of the derrick is provided with the usual water table, as shown. 25 Such water table includes the usual horizontal supporting members I3 connected between the derrick legs and extending therebeyond. A pair of I-beams I4 forming the supporting means for the crown block assembly is illustrated as being 30 v supported on the upperend of the derrick and are spaced apart a distancer greater than the spacing between the upper ends of the derrick legs, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The lower ends of the legs IB lie outwardly of the upper ends of the derrick legs and project below the upper ends thereof. The lower end of each leg I6 is'provided with a pair of brackets II as clearly shown in Figures 1, 3, and 5. The legs I6 are preferably formed of angle section and each bracket I1 has one end IB bolted or riveted as at I9 to one side of each of the legs I6. The other end 20 of each bracket is adapted to be secured against one side of the adjacent derrick leg II. Since the brackets are made of flat material bent along parallel lines, the ends 20 55 lie inv vertical planes. while the derrick legs II are inclined aspreviously stated. Accordingly, angular llerblocks 2| are arranged behind the bracket ends 20, and the latter are bolted or otherwise secured as at 22 to the derrick legs.

As previously stated each of the horizontal members I3 projects'beyond the sides of the derrick, and the legs I6 are arranged outwardly of and in close proximity to the members I3 as'will be clear from the dotted line showing of the legs I6 in Figure 2. Angle brackets 23 are employed for rigidly connecting eachleg I6 to to the adjacent member vI3, as clearlyshown in Figures lv and 4. Thus it will'be apparent that the brackets l II and 23 serve to rigidly-connect the legs I6 to the derrick at vspaced points.

The legs I6' are properly braced with respect to each other. For example, intermediate their height,` the legs I6 are connected bygirts 24. Girts y25 are also connected between the upper ends of the legs I6 in a manner to be described, and the latter girts are -connected to the legs I6 by braces 26. As shown in Figure 5 each girt 25 is secured to a plate 2'I arranged inwardly thereof and the lower ends of these plates are secured to the legs I6 outwardly thereof as shown in' Figure 1. Thus the girts 25 and the upper ends of the legs I 6 are rigidly secured to each other and these elements have their upper extremities lying substantially in a common horizontal plane. y

A plurality of upper legs 28 is arranged above the legs I6. The legs 28 correspond in number and arrangement to thelegs I6 and have theirlower ends arranged over the legs I6 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Bearing plates 29 are secured to the lower ends of the legs 28 and are bolted Orptherwisesecured as at 30 to the girts 25 (see Figure'). The legs 28 converge relatively sharply toward their upper ends and the latter are arranged relatively close to each other as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The upperends of the legs 28 are cut oif in a horizontal plane and each is preferably provided with a bearing plate 3| welded thereto. A relatively heavy cap plate 3 2 may be riveted or bolted as at 33 to the individual bearing plates 3I and a depending U- shaped support 33 is carried by the cap plate 32. This support is provided to carry thehoisting means employed for hoisting the crown block,

etc., to the top of the derrick.

In Figure 1 a ladder 34 is illustrated as being secured to one side of the' gin pole to facilitate access Vto the top thereof. This ladder may be secured in position by suitable brackets 35 connected wherever convenient.

The operation of the gin pole will be apparent from the foregoing description. -As stated above, the conventional gin poles usually are formed of a pair of A-frames connected at their upper ends bya single girt. These girts are not adapted to sustain heavy transverse loads, and the diiculty of utilizing such structures has increased due to the-heavy' crown block assemblies now being used. In order t'o increase the horizontal clearance it has been necessary to set the A- frames further apart thus increasing the length of the single girt employed and requiring that the girt be made quite heavy in order to adapt it to support in the center thereof the increasing loads to which it is subjected.

With the present construction thereis no long single-horizontal element at the upper endof the gin pole which must sustain heavy loads at its center. 'I'he present construction efficiently distributes the load through a plurality of upper carried through the legs 28 to the legs I6 which are suitably braced and made rigid with respect to the derrick structure. The combination of these elements provides far more than the necessary strength to sustain all components of the load, and the novel arrangement of the legs I6 with respect to the derrick is highly advantageous. It will be noted that the legs I6 are rigidly supported with respect to the derrick and are arranged wholly outwardly thereof, thus providing more than the necessary horizontal cleariice for the installation of crown block assem- In actual practice at the present time a thir- The present structure is highly elcient for carrying the relatively heavy loads required kby present day practice, and the vertical legs I6 may be made as long as desired, within reasonable limits, without weakening the structure in any way. The rigidity of thestructure under heavy loads and the equal distribution of the loads permits the use of relatively light upper and lower legs 28 and' I6, thus minimizing the weight of the structure as a whole.

One of themost important features of the present construction is its substantial horizontal strength. In actual practice it has been found that more gin pole failures can be traced to the effects of the horizontal components of the load forces than to any other source. In the present construction it is possible to apply a horizontal force from any direction with adequate resistance. The pyramid formed by the legs 28 is effective to the point where it Vjoins the legs I6, and these legs have been found highly rigid in operation due to their bracing and their connection with the legs of the derrick.v As previously stated, prior constructions require much heavier supporting girts at the top 4of the gin poles as these girts are subjected to increases in loads. Thus the weight of such a structure as a whole increases out of proportion to the increases in the loads to which it is subjected. In the present construction the only increases in weight will Abe those due to the lengthening of the legs I 6, the same legssections being employed and merely increased in length where greater vertical clearance is required.

It is to be. understood that the form of our invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangeends of said upper legs.

2. The combination with a derrick, of a gin'75 lower ends vsecured to the upper ends of said lower legs and converging toward their upper ends, a member rigidly fixing the upper ends of said upper legs and supported thereby, and depending supporting means carried by said member.

3. The combination with a derrick, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of substantially vertical lower legs secured adjacent their lower ends to the upper end of the derrick, a plurality of upper legs corresponding in number to the lower legs and each having its lower end supported by the upper end ofl one of said lower legs, said upper legs converging toward their upper ends and having such upper ends arranged in` relative proximity, and supporting means carried by the upper ends of said upper legs.

4. The combination with a derrick, of a lgin pole comprising a plurality of legs corresponding in number and relative .position to the derrick legs and having their lower end portions arranged outwardly of and secured to the upper end portions of the derrick, and supporting v means carried by the top portion of the gin pole.

5. The combination with a derrick, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of legs corresponding in number and relative position to the derrick legs and having their lower end portions arranged outwardly of and secured to the upper end portions of the derrick, a plurality of upper legs having their lower ends corresponding in number and relative position and secured with respect to the upper ends of said rst named legs, and supporting means carried by the top portion of said upper legs.

6. The combination with a derrick, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of legs having their lower end portions arranged outwardly of and secured to the upper end portionsof the derrick, a plurality of upwardly converging .upper legs each having its lower end supported by the upper end of one of said rst named legs, and supporting means carried by the top portion of said upper legs.

'7. The combination with a derrick having polygonally arranged legs, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of correspondingly polygonally arranged legs supported adjacent their lower vend portions with respect to the upper end of the derrick, the polygon defined by said gin pole legs being greater in size than the polygon defined by the derrick legs in the horizontal plane of the upper ends thereof, each gin pole leg hav-- ing its lower end arranged adjacent the upper end of one leg of the derrick.

8. The combination with a derrick having polygonally arranged legs, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of correspondingly polygonally arranged legs supported adjacent their lower end portions with respect to the upper end of the derrick, the polygon defined by said gin pole legs being greater in size than the polygon defined by the derrick legs in the horizontal plane of the upper ends thereof, a plurality of upper legs supported at their lower ends with respect to the upper ends of the first named legs of the gin pole, the upper ends of said upper legs being arranged in closer proximity to each other than the lower ends thereof, and supporting means carried by the top portion of said upper legs.

9. The combination with a derrick having polygonally arranged legs, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of polygonally arranged legs supported adjacent their lower end portions with respect to the upper end of the derrick, the polygon defined by said gin pole legs being greater in size than the polygon defined by the derrick legs'in the horizontal plane of the upper ends thereof, a plurality of 4upwardly converging upper legs each having its lower end supported by the v upper end of one of the first named legs of the,

' tothe upper end of the derrick, a plurality of upper legs corresponding in number'tol thev lower legs and each having its lower end supported by the upper end of one of said lower legs', said upper-legs converging toward their upper ends and 4having such upper j ends arranged in relative proximity, a bearing cap overlying and supported by the upper ends of said upperV legs, and depending supporting means carried by said bearing i Cap.

11. The combination with a derrick having a plurality of legs, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of verticallyarranged lower legs corresponding in number to the arrangement of the legs of thederrick and having their lowerv ends arranged outwardly of the upper ends of the derrick legs, bracket means secured between the lower ends of said lower legs and said derrick legs below the upper ends of the latter, means for anchoring said lower legs with respect to the upper ends of said derrick legs, a plurality of upwardly converging upper legs each having its lower end corresponding in position to and arranged over the upper end of one of said lower legs and secured with respect thereto, and supporting means carried by the upper ends of said upper legs.

-12. The combination with a derrickr having a plurality of legs, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of vertically arranged lower legs correspending in number to the, arrangement of the legs o f the derrick and having their lower ends arranged outwardly of the upper ends of the derrick legs, bracket means secured between the lower ends of said lower legs andsaid derrick legs below the upper ends of the latter, means for anchoring said lower legs with respect to the upper ends of said derrick legs, a plurality of upwardly converging upper legs each having its lower end corresponding in position to and arranged over the upper end of one of said lower legs and secured with respect thereto, theupper ends of said upper legs being arranged in relative proximity and terminating in a common horizontal plane, a horizontal bearing cap carried by the upper ends of said upper legs, andra depending support carried by said bearing cap.

13. The combination 'with a, derrick having a plurality of legs, comprising a gin pole having a pluralityfof vertically arranged lower legs corresponding in number and relative position to the upper ends of the legs of the derrick and having their lower end portions-arranged outwardly of the upper end portions of the derrick legs, bracket means connected between the lower ends of said lower legs and the derrick legs below the upper ends thereof, securing means connected between said lower legs and the upper ends of the derrick legs, a plurality of upper legs each having its lower end arranged directly over the vupper end of one of said lower legs and supported thereon, said upper legs converging toward their upper ends, means for anchoring the upper ends of said upper legs with respect to each other, and supporting means carriedl by said anchoring means.

upper end thereof, securing means connected between each lower leg and the upper end of each derrlck leg, bracing means for said lower legs, a plurality of upper legs corresponding in number to said lower legs and having their lower extremities arranged directly thereabove, a bearing plate carried by the lower end of each upper leg and supported on the'upper end of one of said lower legs. said upper legs converging upwardly and having their upper ends arranged in relative proximity, means for anchoring the uprespect thereto, and supporting means carried by the upper ends of said gin pole legs.

16. The combination with a derrick having" polygonally arranged legs, of a gin pole comprising a plurality of correspondingly polygonally arranged legs, the lower end of each gin pole leg, with respect to the axis of the derrlck, being arranged radially outwardly of the upper end porticn of one of the derrick legs, means for anchoring the gin pole legs to the derrlck legs substantially in the horizontal plane of the upper ends of the latter, means for securing the lower extremity of each gin pole leg to the adjacent derrlck leg, and supporting means carried by the upper ends of said gin pole legs.

WILLIAM SCHWEMLEIN.

SAMUEL B. SETTLE. 

